Importance of King County Comprehensive Plan - Essay Example

A. Analyzing the Business Section of the King County Comprehensive Plan C. Full sentence outline of paper I. Introduction a. Importance of KingCounty Comprehensive Plan b. King County as Part of Seattle II. King County Business Services a. Specific services to business owners b. Land use and environmental policy III. Major issues in King County Comprehensive Plan a. Commercial Competitiveness and Environmental Preservation b. Theories on efficient city planning which is present in the King County Comprehensive Plan IV. Conclusion A. The King County Comprehensive Plan helped the county attain its major objectives. I Introduction a. Benefits of the King County Comprehensive Plan The King County Comprehensive Plan was conceived and implemented to facilitate investment and growth, and to facilitate the expansion of other market sectors. (Thesis statement) The Plan promotes the expansion of leisure and cultural facilities, the provision of a wider office capacity, and the emphasis on residential development. The county needs to attract more corporate investors and consumers by improving accessibility and providing an attractive and a secure commercial setting. King County also boasts of an excellent Forest Program. Approximately one-third of King County's land area consists of forest lands. The county has done activities to preserve these forests through ensuring clean water, appropriate flood control, protecting wildlife and fish habitat, fostering recreation and appreciation of scenic beauty. The county also contributes to the reduction of global warming through carbon sequestration. Sustaining the forests is the primordial strategy of the King County Forestry Program. A string of economic incentives, technical advice, and information are provided by the county and its officials to forest landowners to safeguard the local forests. King County is one of the busy counties in Seattle. King County, with a population of 1,788,300, is the most populous county in Washington. Seattle is a middle class city which is highly unionized, and is home to manufacturing giants--Boeing, Kenworth trucks, Todd shipyards, Weyerhauser and US Plywood. It has the University of Washington, an eminent research university in the field of computer sciences and biomedical research. Seattle is one of America's hi-tech, digital, wired and computer-oriented cities. According to Atkinson's "Metropolitan New Economy Index", Seattle had ranked third as the most advanced in the digital economy. (Atkinson 2003) b. King County as Part of Seattle Seattle is a city which is very attractive to young people whose ages range from 17 to 45 years old. Its demographic profile reveals a high segment of working population. The city boasts of tolerance of alternative lifestyles, excellent educational institutions, superb environmental sites, and a tremendous degree of innovativeness that contributed to the start-up, growth and development of high tech and related sectors. Seattle provides a healthy balance of wealth and opportunity to its local residents. It is a pleasant home to highly educated professionals. II King County Business Services King County promotes the growth of businesses combined with a concern for environmental sustainability and urban quality of life. The County's business development goals are to retain, expand, create and recruit businesses within industry clusters which are essential to the region's economic base and provide the impetus for growth. King County's economic development policies has these goals: Long-term commitment to sustainable economic development; Retention and increase of local firms in various industries which generate income and increase the quality of life its residents; Substantial public funding in large projects to spread benefits for firms and employees; and Environmental preservation and protection as a an important economic value. The Office manages specific Business Development initiatives and partnerships inspired by the County Executive and County Council. It is part of BRED's mission to initiate and develop public and private partnerships that will sustain a diversified economic base and expand jobs. (King County Comprehensive Plan) a.) Specific services to business owners The first service is the provision of the rural services Web site that features useful information about the county's services and programs. The second is the hiring of a rural business circuit rider who is a small business specialist to work with rural businesses. The third service is the establisment of agricultural kitchens. The Office of Business Relation and Development (BRED) and the King County Agriculture Program are working with rural residents and small business owners in opening agricultural kitchens within the county to create value added products such as jams and sauces. The fourth service is the Harvest Celebration and Farm Tour held everyy in October. The BRED, King County Agriculture Program, Forestry Program, and Historic Preservation Program have organized the tour and included historic agricultural information. The fifth service is the Farmer Chef Networking Conference which offers networking services for local food growers and restaurant chefs. The sixth service is the Tools for successful small business operations. The BRED facilitates classes on small business assistance, insurance, marketing, business planning, and the FarmLink Program each March which is managed by the Washington State University Extension Service. The seventh service is the review of county regulations related to economic health of the rural area. The BRED, the Agriculture Commission, the Forestry Commission, the rural Unincorporated Area Councils, and the Historic Preservation Office evaluate codes that potentially impact or limit agricultural and forestry production, value-added products, and home-based business. b. King County land use and environmental policy King County has a special clearing and grading ordinance which is known as Ordinance 15053. The ordinance aims to limit damage to groundwater and surface water quality that results from loss of forest cover. The ordinance requires counties to protect wetlands, groundwater, and wildlife habitat. Several scientific studies used by the county had already revealed that the retention of forest cover is essential to preserve those natural features. The actual economic impact of this land use policy on most landowners is very minimal. The regulation does not infringe upon any of the basic tenets of property ownership. The landowner's basic rights to possess, exclude, and convey are not covered by this regulation. Specifically, this ordinance does not prevent or affect the landowner from continuing his present use of the land, establishing a residence on the land, or dividing the land into multiple lots for resale. Given the county's substantial interest in protecting water quality, and the lack of economic impact that property owners will suffer, the ordinance will likely survive a challenge on due process grounds. III. Major Objectives of the King County Comprehensive Plan a. Commercial competitiveness and Environmental Preservation Commercial competitiveness and environmental preservation are the main objectivedof the King County Comprehensive Plan. Commercial competitiveness refers to the diversification of the county's economic base through the provision of value-added and timely business services. Environmental preservation has the facilitating mechanisms in the implementation of an appropriate land use policy and forest preservation policies. These two approaches in the King County Comprehensive Plan call for collaborative action, partnership, and the cohesive unity among the county residents. Finally, the need for making the county safe, attractive and accessible to shoppers and visitors will be promoted as a community and a commercial goal. Strong entrepreneurial attitudes, access to venture capital and to technological expertise, and public policy promotion of new enterprise formation help promote innovative environments. The provision of modern transport technologies and improvements in communications have strong impacts on commercial competitiveness. b. Theories which are present in the King County Comprehensive Plan A county not only promotes wealth generation but also acts as the focus of cultural differences and social diversity. Its continued success depends on the presence of social cohesion. The achievement of social cohesion is not anymore regarded as a costly redistributive event but one which helps attain competitiveness through the combination of skills, creativity and active citizenship. (Oatley 1998:3) The city is considered a premier location for transacting business internationally by offering specialized financial and electronic facilities. (Simmie 2001). The city is helped by a county which functions as an administrative service center which shows considerable dynamism and rising per capita incomes. The shift towards the new kind of urban governance, is highly centered more on process than on institutions. This pertains to the "development of governing action in which the boundaries between and within public and private sectors have become blurred" (Pierre & Stoker 2000:32). The challenge of collective action is met, and the perspectives and tensions present in policy interactions related to networks and webs of relationships showed the increasing importance of achieving local institutional capacity. The process of governing does not assume a homogenous government, but an evolving partnership of public departments and agencies, private and voluntary sector organisations, moving at various but interdependent levels to attain a healthy governance. (Leach & Percy-Smith 2001:22) Concluding point of view At the heart of the commercial competitiveness of King County are three clear goals, namely to maximize market opportunities to meet future demand for quality retail, leisure and residential uses within the county; to utilize public funding to attract the highest private investment for public benefit; and to maintain an environmentally friendly county. All the major residents and landowners had given support for these clear objectives which are encapsulated in the King County Comprehensive Plan. Public support is indispensable to the success of the plan's delivery. In conclusion, King County Comprehensive Plan is a distinct contribution to sustainable development concerns. The Plan enhances the attractiveness for business and investment. It builds up civic pride and sense of place and fosters safer city centres. Bibliography Atkinson, R. 2003. The Metropolitan New Economy Index. Washington DC: Progressive Policy Institute. Atkinson, R. 1998. "Technological Change and Cities". Cityscape, 3: 129-170. Homman, Mary. 1993. City Planning in America: Between Promise and Despair. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. Leach, R. and Percy-Smith, J. 2001. Local Governance in Britain. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Oatley, N. (ed.), (1998) Cities, Economic Competition and Urban Policy, London: Paul Chapman Publishing. Morill, Richard and Paul Sommers. 2005. Seattle as a Digital City: Unexpected or Inevitable/ Seattle Comme Ville Digitale Imprevu Ou Inevitable. Canadian Journal of Regional Science. Volume: 28. Issue: 2. Page Number: 349. Pierre, J. and Stoker, G. 2000. Towards Multi-Level Governance: Developments in British Politics. London: Macmillan Williams, Gwyndaf. 2003. The Enterprising City Centre: Manchester's Development Challenge. New York: Routledge. Online sources King Comprehensive County plan. Http:///www.kingcounty.gov Read More